IMPORTANT

As of Sept. 4, 2018, the following nursing colleges amalgamated to become

the British Columbia College of Nursing Professionals (BCCNP):

• College of Licensed Practical Nurses of British Columbia (CLPNBC)

• College of Registered Nurses of British Columbia (CRNBC)

• College of Registered Psychiatric Nurses of British Columbia (CRPNBC)

Although the information in the document you are about to access re�ects

our most current information about this topic, you’ll notice the content refers

to the previous nursing college that published this document prior to

Sept. 4, 2018.

We appreciate your patience while we work towards updating all of our

documents to re�ect our new name and brand.

Regulatory Supervision of Psychiatric Nursing Student Activities | Practice Standard for RPNs

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Regulatory Supervision of Psychiatric Nursing Student Activities Practice Standard

April 1, 2016, Revised September 29, 2017

PracticeStandardssetoutbaselinerequirementsforspecificaspectsofRegisteredPsychiatricNurses’practice.TheyinteractwithotherrequirementssuchastheBCCNPRPNCodeofEthics,alltheBCCNPRPNstandardsofpractice,theBCCNPBylawsandrelevantlegislation.

Education programs and employers are responsible for providing the organizational supports and resources necessary for RPNs to provide regulatory supervision of psychiatric nursing student activities safely and according to BCCNP RPN standards of practice.

RPNs have a professional responsibility to provide regulatory supervision of psychiatric nursing student activities that may affect clients. Psychiatric nursing students do not have the authority to perform these activities unless authorized by an RPN.

Regulatory supervision is the process RPNs follow to authorize these activities. The purpose of the process is to ensure public protection when students are doing activities as part of:

an entry-level or re-entry level psychiatric nursing education program recognized by BCCNP, and/or

work as an employed student psychiatric nurse.

RPNs providing regulatory supervision follow the process outlined in this practice standard, and use their professional judgment to make decisions about activities a psychiatric nursing student may do with clients. Regulatory supervision is conceptually different from other types of supervision, such as employment or education supervision that might be carried out by a unit manager or an educator.

THEREGULATORYSUPERVISIONPROCESS

The process of regulatory supervision consists of four components, each of which needs to be in place to meet this standard.

1. KnowthePsychiatricNursingStudent’sCompetence

The RPN must be reasonably satisfied that the psychiatric nursing student has the competence to do an activity. Students achieve competence through their education program, e.g., theory, lab work and successful demonstration. RPNs learn about a student's competence from a variety of sources, such as the student, employer, education program, observation, etc.

2. AuthorizetheActivitiesthePsychiatricNursingStudentmayPerform.

When deciding to authorize activities, the RPN considers (at a minimum):

the RPN’s own competence to perform the activities and provide regulatory supervision of the activities

the psychiatric nursing student's competence (e.g., knowledge, skills and judgment),

Regulatory Supervision of Psychiatric Nursing Student Activities | Practice Standard for RPNs

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the client (e.g., health condition, needs, opinion about a student’s involvement), the activities to be performed (e.g., complexity), and the practice setting (e.g., changing circumstances, education and agency policy,

learning environment).

3. SettheConditionsforthePsychiatricNursingStudenttoPerformtheActivities

The RPN sets conditions for the psychiatric nursing student to perform the activities, considering such things as:

whether the RPN will be physically present with the psychiatric nursing student, the frequency of contact with the psychiatric nursing student, involvement of others in overseeing the activities, and how the RPN will know what activities have been done and their effects.

4. ManagetheRisktotheClient

The RPN anticipates and manages potential and actual risks that originate from the psychiatric nursing student activities. This includes reviewing and revising regulatory supervision decisions.

PRINCIPLES

1. RPNs provide regulatory supervision for all psychiatric nursing student activities that may affect clients, are within RPNs' scope of practice and fall within the RPN's individual competence.

2. RPNs agree to provide regulatory supervision when each of the principles in this practice standard can be met.

3. Before authorizing activities, RPNs must be reasonably satisfied that the psychiatric nursing student has achieved sufficient competence through their psychiatric nursing education program to perform the activity safely.

4. RPNs do not authorize activities that would require employed student psychiatric nurses to acquire new clinical skills to be learned outside their education program.

5. RPNs consider the client's opinion about the psychiatric nursing student's involvement in his or her care before authorizing activities.

6. RPNs clearly communicate to the psychiatric nursing student which activities they have authorized, the conditions they have set, and the duration of the authorization.

7. RPNs meet this practice standard regardless of role (e.g., faculty member, staff nurse, manager, etc.) or practice setting.

8. RPNs have an obligation to comply with the regulatory supervision process regardless of employer, educational or other considerations.

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9. RPNs collaborate to establish roles and accountabilities for the components of the regulatory supervision process when more than one nurse is involved (e.g., faculty member and placement agency staff).

10. RPNs are accountable and responsible for decisions associated with the regulatory supervision process.

11. RPNs use professional judgment to guide their decisions throughout the regulatory supervision process.

12. RPNs initiate, monitor and terminate the regulatory supervision process as appropriate.

APPLYINGTHEPRINCIPLES

a. InvolvingOthersintheProcess

You may involve others when setting conditions for a psychiatric nursing student's activities. As an RPN, you might authorize an activity on the condition that a specific BCCNP registrant (e.g., LPN, RN) staff person is present in the practice setting. However, you are still responsible for the regulatory supervision process.

If you provide regulatory supervision with other RPNs, you must collaborate on each part of the process. Each RPN is accountable and responsible for their decisions and the process.

b. DecidingWhichRPNisBesttoProvideRegulatorySupervision

BCCNP does not specify the role or job title of the RPN providing regulatory supervision. Who fills the role will be based on the circumstances and the setting. The best RPN may be a front line RPN, a manager, a faculty member, etc.

c. PublicProtectionComesFirst

There are times when RPNs may be responsible for regulatory supervision as well as employment or educational supervision. You may experience this if you are a nurse manager or a nursing instructor/faculty member. The purposes of these types of supervision can overlap and you can often meet the responsibilities of both. Occasionally these purposes may be at odds. When this happens, regulatory supervision must come first to ensure public protection. For example, there might be an opportunity for an employed student psychiatric nurse to try a new skill. If they don't have the competencies from their psychiatric nursing education program, the activity cannot be authorized.

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GLOSSARY

Collaboration A joint communication and decision-making process with the expressed goal of working together toward identified outcomes while respecting the unique qualities and abilities of each member of the group or team.

Competence The integration and application of knowledge, skills, attitudes and judgment required to perform safely, ethically and appropriately within an individual’s practice or in a designated role or setting.

RegulatorySupervision The process by which a RPN may authorize an activity to be performed by another person who does not otherwise have authority to perform the activity.

ScopeofPractice The activities that RPNs are educated and authorized to perform, set out in the Nurses(RegisteredPsychiatric)Regulation under the HealthProfessionsAct and complemented by standards, limits and conditions set by BCCNP.

FURTHERINFORMATION

The BCCNP RPN standards of practice set out requirements for practice that RPNs must meet. They are available from the Standards section of the BCCNP website: www.bccnp.ca

For more information on this or any other practice issue, contact a BCCNP Practice Consultant at practice@bccnp.ca.

Updated April 1, 2016 Revised Sept. 29, 2017

© Copyright BC College of Nursing Professionals September 2018